Water-skiing tow rope reeling device



April 10, 1962 w. CHILD 3,029,041

WATER-*SKIING TOW ROPE REELING DEVICE Filed Feb. 25, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY 5 April 10, 1962 w. CHILD- WATER-SKIING TOW ROPEREEL ING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 25, 1960 INVENTOR /U A g MBY -ym uflfim PM 1 I 11111,, III

ATTORNEYS nite States atet i 3,029,041 WATER-SKHNG TOW ROPE REELINGDEVICE Wright Child, 5382 Knollcrest, Murray, Utah Filed Feb. 25, 1960,Ser. No. 11,059 3 Claims. (Cl. 242-865) This invention relates generallyto a water-skiing tow rope reeling apparatus, and more particularly to amotor driven apparatus for reeling in a water-skiing tow rope looselytowed behind a boat, which apparatus will be automatically de-energizedwhen the tow rope is completely wound upon the reel.

With the development of relatively inexpensive outboard motors of highhorsepower (25 horsepower and up) and the corresponding increasingpopularity of boating as a recreational pastime, the sport of 'waterskiing has seen a remarkable growth. However, due to the increasednumber of boats utilizing areas (lakes, streams, etc.) of limited sizefor water skiing, careful attention must be given to water courtesy,proper traffic patterns, and the like. I

In the sport of water skiing the pulling in of a tow rope at the end ofa ski ride has always presented a problem in the past. For example, whena skier has fallen during a ski ride, the operator is desirous ofreturning, to the skier as promptly as possible. The operator may eitherstop the boat to pull in the loose tow rope before returning to theskier so that the end of the coiled rope may be thrown to the fallenskier, or the operator may go directly to the skier and partially circlehim to get the rope to him. In narrow water areas where navigation isdifficult it is not always possible to circle the skier, and the dangerlies of getting the tow rope caught in the propeller of the towing boat.It is also undesirable to leave the tow rope played out from the boatfor any length of time, since the rope might be inadvertently cut by thepropeller of another boat or might snag on some obstruction. Finally, inthe past it has been necessary for the operator to be assisted byanother person in pulling in tow rope while the boat operator maintainsthe boat in a desired position, or else it has been necessary for theoperator to shift the motor to neutral and to climb back to the rear ofthe boat and pull in the tow rope himself.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a motor-drivenreeling device in a water-skiing tow rope while the boat is eitherstationary or in motion.

Another object of my invention is. to provide a motor drivenwater-skiing tow rope reeling device which will automatically bede-energized when the tow rope is com pletely wound in upon the reel.

Another object of my invention is to provide a waterskiing tow ropereeling device which, after the rope is completely reeled in upon thereel, will position the rope handles at one side of the rear end of theboat above the water line for simple access by a prospective skier.

Still another object of my invention is to provide anelectric-motor-driven tow rope reeling device having a guide arm whichis pivoted upwardly when the rope is completely wound upon the reel tosimultaneously deenergize the drive motor and to position the tow ropehandle to one side of the rear end of the boat above the water-linethereof. I

Other obiects and advantages of my invention will become more apparentfrom a study of the following specification when considered inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the tow rope reeling device with therope in its fully wound state on the reel;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view-of the reeling device taken along line 2--2of FIG. 3;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus with the tow rope substantiallycompletely unwound;

FIG. 4 is a detail elevational view of the hinge bracket with the guidearm removed;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a guide arm modificationhaving a hingedly connected eyelet;

FIG. 6 is a schematic wiring diagram of the electrical system; I

FIG. 7 is a detailed diagrammatic illustration of the operation of theswitch operating bar by the guide arm;

FIG. 8 is a detailed elevational view of another guide arm embodiment,and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary detailed view of a further embodiment of theinvention.

Referring first more particularly to FIG. 1, the tow rope reeling device1 is clamped to the transom 2 of a boat 3. While the boat has beenillustrated as being of an outboard type having a motor 4 secured to thetransom, it will be obvious that the invention is also applicable toinboard motor boats as well.

The reeling device includes a casing 5 having side walls 6, 7. At theforward end the casing has a top wall 8, and a front wall 9. At itsrearward end the casing includes a back wall 10 rigidly securedintermediate the side walls 6, 7. As shown in the drawings, this backwall 10 extends only partially upwardly for the height of the side wallsand merges with the transom-connecting horizontal wall 11 and downwardlydepending vertical wall 12.. The walls '10, 1 1 and 12 in cross-sectionform an inverted U-shaped channel aligned with corresponding openings inthe side walls 6, 7 so that the devicemay be fitted downwardly upon thetransom 2 for clamping thereto by means of the clamping bolts 13.

Rotatably mounted in fixed journals between the side walls 6, 7 is thetow rope reel 14 upon which is wound the tow rope 15. Rigidly mountedwithin the forward end of the housing 5 is the electric motor 16 havinga shaft 17 to which is rigidly secured the pulley 18. By means ofendless belt 19 wound upon motor pulley 18 and pulley 20 secured to thereel 14, the reel may be driven by the motor in a direction to wind thetow rope 1-5 thereon.

While pulley-belt means have been illustrated for driving the tow ropereel by the motor shaft, it is apparent that various other driveconnecting meanssuch as gearing means, friction rollers, motor reductiongearing, or direct shaft drivecould be used equally as well. 1

Pivotally connected to the rear wall '10 about fixed pivot pin 22 (FIG.4) is the hinge bracket 23 having spaced side flanges 24. The angularposition of the bracket 23 relative to rear wall 10 may be fixedly setwithin a range of approximately 160 by means of the bolt 25 whichextends through slot 26 in the bracket for threaded engagement with athreaded bore in the rear wall 10. As will be explained in greaterdetail below, the angular position of the bracket 23 about pivot axis 22may be set as desired to cause the guide arm 30 and tow rope handle 39to extend over the adjacent side of the rear end of the boat regardlessof on which side of the motor 4 the device is secured to the transom 2.

Hingedly connected to the bracket 23 by means of hinge pin 28 journalledin flanges 24 is the tow rope guide and lifting arm 30. The guide arm 36terminates at its Fatented Apr. 10, 1962 have been illustrated as beingsubstantially at right angles to each other relative to the longitudinalaxis of the arm 30, this need not always be the case. Coil spring 36 issecured at one end to hinge pin 28 and at the other end to arm section33; this coil spring functions (together "with gravity) to normallycause the arm 30 to be in its horizontal position illustrated in FIGS. 2and 3. It should be mentioned that when arm 30 is in its horizontalposition shown in FIG. 2, the extremity 32a of section 32 abuts againstthe head of bolt 25 which serves as a stop against further downwardpivotal movement of the arm.

As will be explained in greater detail below, when the tow rope isreeled in upon reel 14, the float 37 secured to the tow rope adjacentthe bridle 38 of the handle 39 will engage the eyelet 31 and pivot thearm 30 upwardly to the position shown in FIG. 1. When the arm 30 reachesthis position, it engages switch operating bar 40 which is pivotallyconnected to the casing side walls by pivots 41 (see FIG. 7). Springmeans 42 normally biases switch operating bar 49 outwardly from the rearwall 10. When guide arm 30 engages switch operating bar 40 and pivotsthe same in the clockwise di-- rection in FIG. 7, connecting rod 43 willbe moved to the left to open the normally-closed contacts of switch 4-1secured to the casing side wall 6.

Referring now to the electrical wiring diagram of FIG. 6, the motor 16and switch 44 are connected in series with the battery 45. Alsoconnected in series with the battery is the main switch 46 which islocated on the boat for operation by the driver thereof or by anassistant supervising the water skier. The reel driving motorillustrated is of a low horsepower direct-current type adapted to reelin approximately 90 feet of tow rope in 6 seconds with the boat inmotion. It is apparent, however, that other types of motive power meanscould be used equally as well.

When the guide arm 30 has been raised to the position of FIG. 4 itcontacts the magnetic latch 48 on the bracket 23 whereby the arm will beretained in place by the magnetic attraction between the arm 30 and themagnetic latch 48. As an alternative, the magnetic latch 49 may bepositioned on the end of side wall 7 (as shown in FIGS. 1-3) forengagement by the arm in its raised position of FIG. 1.

The operation of the ski tow rope reel device may now be described.

Assume first that the tow rope is completely unwound from the reel 14-and a water skier is being towed by the boat. The entire tension of thetow rope will be on the reel 14 which tension will be transmitted to thetransom 2 by the casing side wall 6, 7. As the skier veers to eitherside of the boat relative to its longitudinal direction of travel, therope will engage one or the other of side walls 6, 7. The arm 30 willpivot freely about its universal pivot pins 28, 34 and no tension willbe transmitted to the arm. The tension in the tow rope due to the weightof the skier being towed will assist in clamping the housing 1 to thetransom 3.

When the skier drops the rope at the end of a ride or due to a fall, theboat operator closes switch 46 whereby the electrical circuit of themotor 16 is closed. Motor 16 will drive reel 14 to reel in the tow rope15. It is important to note that the rope may be reeled in automaticallywithout the attention of the boat operator when the boat is either inmotion or at rest. When the rope is reeled in to the point that float 37engages eyelet 3-1, further reeling in of the rope will pivot arm 31upwardly to the position of FIG. 1. The arm, which is light weight andformed from a suitable magnetic material-such as stainless steel forexample--engages switch operating bar 40 to pivot the same toward rearwall 10. Connecting rod 43 is then moved to the left to open thecontacts of switch 44 and discontinue operation of the reel drivingmotor 16. The arm will simultaneously engage magnetic latch 48 (or 49 asthe case may be) so that the arm will be held by magnetic attraction inthe upper position of FIG. 1. Of course, other types of latches-such asa friction latch for examplemight be substituted for the illustratedmagnetic latch. Due to the angle at which bracket 23 has been setrelative to the vertical axis of rear wall 10 by bolt means 25, arm 30will angularly extend to the side of the boat so that the tow ropehandle 39 will hang downwardly adjacent the side of the boat above thewaterline as shown in FIG. 1. Thus a person swimming in the water mayreadily grasp the tow rope handle without fear of the propeller of theoutboard motor 4. Also the handle 39 is positioned for ready grasping bya prospective skier on a pier or float.

When it is desired to unreel the tow rope with the apparatus in theposition of FIG. 1 (switch 46 having been opened by the boat operator),the prospective skier grasps the tow rope handle 39 and pulls downwardlyor rearwardly with a force to overcome the force of magnetic attractionof the permanent magnet latch 48 (or latch 49). Arm 30 is then loweredto its normally horizontal position of FIGS. 2 and 3 and the tow ropemay be freely unreeled as the boat moves slowly away from the skier.When the rope is completely unreeled and the skier indicates all to bein readiness, the boat operator opens the throttle to full power to pullthe skier out of the water.

Although the invention has been described with reference to awater-skiing tow rope, it is, of course, obvious that the invention isalso applicable for other reeling devices, such as'anchor chain reels,for example. It is also to be understood that while the device has beenillustrated as being clamped to the transom of an outboard motor boat,it may also be adapted for securement to other places on inboard oroutboard boats.

Also, instead of having section 33 of arm 30 pivotally connected tosection 32 by pivot pin 34 as shown in FIG. 5, I also contemplate afurther modification having the cylindrical end portion of section 33held against a peripheral flange on the outer surface of section 32solely by the biasing action of the spring 36. In this case the end ofspring 36 adjacent pin 28 terminates at the end of section 33 and isconnected to hinge pin 28 by a connecting link. This connecting linkpermits the spring end to move to either side of section 32 in thedirection that section 33 is moved, so that unequal stretching of thespring and breaking down of its tensile strength is avoided.

This modification of the structure shown in FIG. 5 is illustrated inFIGURE 9, in which the peripheral flange is shown at 32b and theconnecting link is shown at 36a.

While in accordance with the patent statutes I have illustrated anddescribed the best forms and embodiments of my invention now known tome, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other changesmay be made in the apparatus described without deviating from the scopeof my invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A reeling device comprising a casing having spaced side walls and arear wall, a reel rotatably mounted be tween said side Walls, anormally-horizontal guide arm connected at one end to said rear wall forpivotal movement about a generally horizontal pivot axis, said guide armextending generally longitudinallyrearwardly from said casing and havingan eyelet at the other end thereof, a tow rope connected at one end tosaid reel and extending through the eyelet in said guide arm, said towrope having a body secured thereto adjacent the free end thereof whichis larger than the size of the opening of said eyelet, electric motormeans for driving said reel to wind the tow rope thereon and to pivotsaid guide arm upwardly to a substantially vertical position when saidbody contacts said eyelet during the winding operation, and switch meansoperable by said arm when said arm is raised to its substantiallyvertical position for de-energizing said electric motor means tointerrupt the operation thereof.

2. A water-skiing tow rope reeling device comprising a casing includinga rear wall, a reel rotatably mounted in said casing, anormally-horizontal guide arm, universal joint means pivotallyconnecting one end of said guide arm to the exterior surface of saidrear well, said guide arm extending generally longitudinally rearwardlyof said casing and having an eyelet at the other end thereof, a tow ropeconnected at one end to said reel and extending through the eyelet insaid guide arm, said tow rope having a body secured thereto adjacent thefree end thereof which is larger than the size of the opening of saideyelet, electric motor means for driving said reel to Wind the tow ropethereon and to pivot said guide arm upwardly to a substantially verticalposition when said body contacts said eyelet during the windingoperation, switch means on said casing operable by said arm when saidarm is raised to its substantially vertical position for de-energizingsaid electric motor means to interrupt the operation thereof, and latchmeans on said casing for removably maintaining said arm in itssubstantially vertical position.

3. A water-skiing tow rope reeling device comprising a casing having arear Wall, a reel rotatably connected to said casing for rotation abouta horizontal axis, a guide arm pivotally connected at one end to saidrear wall and extending longitudinally rearwardly from said casing, saidguide arm having guide means including an aperture at the other endthereof, a tow rope connected at one end to said reel and extendingthrough the aperture of said guide means, said tow rope having a bodysecured thereto adjacent the free end thereof which is larger than thesize of the aperture of said guide means, electric motor means drivingsaid reel to wind the tow rope thereon, said guide arm being pivotallyconnected to said rear wall at an elevation which is lower than theperipheral point at which said tow rope is wound on said reel, andswitch means on said casing operable by said guide arm when said guidearm is pivoted upwardly about its pivot axis as a result or theengagement of said body with said guide means to interrupt the operationof said electric motor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,153,887 Blair Sept. 21, 1915 2,437,630 Williams et al. Mar. 9, 19532,664,250 Friedman Dec. 29, 1953 2,816,310 Nale Dec. 17, 1957 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,029,041 vApril 1J0, 1962 Wright Child It is hereby certified that erfor appearsin the above numbered patant requiring correction and that the saidLetters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 4, line 61, after "arm' insert pivotally Signed and sealed this24th day of July 1962.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST w. SWIDER DAVID LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

